How to bet on a handicap in football

Handicap are bets at which a certain event in a match (for example, a team’s victory) is given a conditional advantage or lag that has a quantitative value (for example, +1 or -1 goal in football). If, after applying the handicap to the result of the match, the indicated event is held, then the bet wins.

The most popular type of handicap betting is betting on the victory of a team or an athlete with a handicap. In this case, the handicap is expressed as the number of goals, points, games, and so on, which are conditionally added to the final score or subtracted from the final score for the selected side of the competition.

They also bet with a handicap on such events as, for example, winning on corners, cards in football.

In the main handicap market, the bookmaker offers a positive handicap for the underdog and a negative handicap for the favorite.

Handicap types

European handicap (handicap)

The European handicap is positive and negative, where positive means adding a conditional number of points to the final result, and negative means subtracting a conditional number of points. If, after applying the European handicap, the team chosen by the player wins the score, then the bet wins, and if the team loses, then the bet also loses. If the score is tied after applying the handicap, then the bet also loses because the European handicap market considers a draw as a possible outcome (you can bet on a draw with a European handicap).

For example, in a match between team A and team B, a bet is placed on team B with a European handicap (+1). The match ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of team A. In this case, the bet loses, because after adding the conditional goal to the result of team B, the score is 2:2 – the selected team does not win. For the bet to win, Team B must not lose.

Ajax Roma
(-2.5) 6.95 (+2.5) 1.06
(-2.0) 6.35 (+2.0) 1.09
(-1.5) 3.54 (+1.5) 1.28
(-1.0) 2.83 (+1.0) 1.43
(0) 1.55 (0) 2.80
(+1.0) 1.10 (-1.0) 6.90
(+1.5) 1.07 (-1.5) 7.70
The European handicap differs from the Asian handicap in that it has only integer values and does not provide for the expense (refund) of the bet in the event of a draw after the application of the handicap.

At bookmakers with a wide range, you can bet on both the favorite and the outsider of a sporting event with both positive and negative European handicap. European handicap bets are usually offered on football (soccer).

Asian Handicap

With the Asian handicap, you can bet on one of the two outcomes of the event, while the draw is not taken into account (the bet is returned to the player if the result is a draw after applying the handicap). The Asian handicap adds a certain conditional number of goals, points, games, corners to the final result of the match or subtracts this number from the result of the match.

The Asian handicap can be positive or negative, single or double. A single Asian handicap can have integer values and fractional values that are multiples of 0.5. A double Asian handicap is made up of two single handicaps – for example, (-1;1.5) – and can be written in two ways: as two separate handicap values and as a single value divisible by 0.25. For example, handicap (-1;1.5) and handicap (-1.25) are the same thing.

Asian Handicap

For Asian Handicap betting purposes, a certain value is added to or subtracted from the final result of the selected team, and if the selected team then wins, then the bet also wins. If, after applying the Asian handicap, there is a draw, then the bet is returned to the player. This happens with whole Asian odds – for example (+1) or (-2). If, after applying the Asian handicap, the side chosen by the player concedes, then the bet loses.

For example, in a match between team A and team B, a bet was placed on the victory of team A with an Asian handicap (-2). The match ended with a score of 3:1 in favor of team A. After applying the handicap, the result is a draw 1:1, that is, the bet is returned. To win the bet in this case, it is necessary that team A win by 3 goals or more, and if it wins by 1 goal, draws or loses, then the bet also loses, because after applying the handicap, team A will lose the score .

Separately, the calculation of double Asian odds should be explained. In this case, the amount of the bet is conditionally divided in half: half goes to one value of the double handicap, half – to the second. Further, the calculation of halves is carried out according to the usual rules.

For example, in a match between team A and team B, a bet of 1,000 rubles was placed on team B with an Asian handicap (+1.75), which can also be written as (+1.5; 2). In this case, one half of the bet conditionally goes to the handicap (+1.5), the second half – to the handicap (+2). Team A wins the match 3-1. After applying the handicap (+1.5), the score becomes 3:2.5, which means that the first half of the bet loses. After applying the handicap (+2), the score becomes 3:3, which means that a refund is made for the second half. This bet would win if Team A won by less than 1 goal, if there was a draw, or if Team B won.

It should be noted that if the handicap on which the return is made is contained in a parlay bet, then that selection in the parlay receives odds of 1.0 for settlement purposes – and the parlay does not lose.

Types of markets

Handicap betting on the outcome of a match

This betting market involves the player predicting the result of the match, taking into account the handicap.

These betting markets involve the player predicting the result of individual periods of a sporting event, taking into account the handicap – halves, periods, quarters, etc. For example, betting on Basketball Team A to win the first quarter with a -2.5 handicap means that Team A must win the first quarter by at least 3 points.

This betting market involves a player predicting an advantage or disadvantage on corner kicks in football. For example, if a bet is placed on team A with a handicap of +2.5 in corners, then team A must be no more than 2 corners behind the opponent in order to win the bet.

Handicap betting on cards

This betting market involves a player predicting card advantage or disadvantage in football. For example, if a bet is placed on team A with a handicap of -1.5 on cards, then team A must receive at least two more cards per match than the opponent to win the bet.

Conclusion

Handicap is a bet at which the initially selected team is given an advantage in the form of N goals, or a gap of N points. Calculating the handicap bet is simple – you need to add / subtract the selected value from the final result, and if the team wins or draws after that, then the bet is played or returned.

There are European and Asian odds – integer and fractional. In the first case, a return on the rate is impossible, in the second – this option is not excluded. You can bet on handicap within the full match or its individual segments.

FAQ

Is it profitable to bet on the outcome of a match, taking into account the handicap?
Handicap betting is more appropriate in matches in which it is very difficult to predict the total of the game, but there is a good understanding of the difference in the strength of the teams on a particular day.

What sports can you bet on?

You can bet with a handicap on those sports where there are any statistical indicators: goals, games, sets, corners, yellow cards, shots on target, rebounds, assists, and so on.

Can I place a handicap bet on an accumulator bet?

Betting on total and handicap is a good option for making a combination, for example, in football.

What does Handicap -0.75 mean?

Handicap (-0.75) is divided into F(-0.5) and F(-1). Two halves of the bet amount are automatically placed on them.